Microsoft teases Xbox hardware reveal next month

Microsoft today hinted it could be showing off some fun new hardware at a major gaming event next month and be still, my heart.

The details: Microsoft gave a small preview of what to expect from its visit to this year’s Gamescom, to be held in Germany in late August. In a blog post today, the company announced it’d be offering “all-new Xbox hardware and accessories” along with “a few surprises.”

I don’t delude myself into thinking this is where the company will unveil its next console, codenamed Scarlett. If it had anything of Scarlett worth showing, I suspect they’d have done so at last month’s E3.

But the prevailing rumor is Microsoft will reveal its next iteration of the popular Xbox Elite controller. This expensive, customizable piece of gaming hardware — which we reviewed in 2015 — is a must for those who spend most of their time in front of a gaming device. It’d be great to see what the company comes up with for a new iteration.

But wait. There’s more: There is a telling difference between the Microsoft announcement blog post and the one that appears on the Xbox blog post. At the moment, the Xbox one says it will show off “new Xbox One bundles and accessories” rather than just “new hardware.” This means it’s very likely we’ll be seeing a few Xbox One X bundles.

Personally, I’m holding out hope for a Crackdown 3 bundle, though I doubt the company would go to the trouble of teasing that alone. Still, a gamer can dream.